What ageism is and how it hurts each of us

We put labels on each other. When trying to form an opinion about a person, we rely on the most obvious data: gender, age, race, nationality, income level and education. Such tactics, on the one hand, are quite natural, but at the same time they underlie many stereotypes, conflicts and various types of discrimination. One of the problems our tendency to judge people superficially leads to is ageism.

What is Ageism

In a narrow sense, it is discrimination against people on the basis of age. In broad terms - creating and broadcasting stereotypes about people of a certain age. Ageism can manifest itself at the level of personal prejudice, for example, when it seems to someone that all older people are grumpy and conservative. And it can take on a much more monstrous scale, when a certain group of people is infringed on their rights because of their age already at the state level.

Fortunately, this happens mainly on the pages of dystopias, and in the real world it always causes a lot of resonance. For example, in 2006, the leader of Turkmenistan refused to pay pensions to elderly people who have children, and offered to deprive the rest of their homes and move them to nursing homes.

Ageism can affect any age group. Children are denied the right to their own opinion, adolescents are considered irresponsible and uncontrollable, a certain set of achievements is required from thirty-year-olds (family, children, apartment, good job and salary). But most of all, of course, goes to the elderly. And this is not only their problem. Ageism harms society as a whole and affects each of us.

How ageism manifests itself

1. It is difficult for people of age and beginners to get a job

Among the Russians surveyed, 37% note: they were denied a job because they were “too young” for it; 60% - because they are “too old”. According to other data, up to 98% of the respondents faced age discrimination, depending on the region. Applicants over 45 years old receive an average of 1.8 invitations for interviews, which is two to three times less than younger candidates. The duration of a job search after 45 also increases and in 40% of cases it reaches six months.

Many employers want to see in their team only young and ambitious people, those who are familiar with modern technologies, learn quickly, get along easily in a team, will not go to doctors and will not retire in 5-7 years. As a result, everyone who does not fall into this category runs the risk of being left behind, so they are forced to grab onto unskilled and low-paid work or agree to a black salary.

In 2019, only 40% of pre-retirees in Russia were officially employed.

And all this is terribly unfair: according to employers themselves, older candidates are more experienced and effective than their younger colleagues, and are ready to devote more time to tasks.

International organizations also recognize the problem: people around the world face prejudice.

Too young candidates are also rejected by employers. For example, in a survey by VTsIOM, 55% of respondents named the inability to get a job as one of the main difficulties at the start of their career. Yes, we can say that the point here is not age, but lack of experience, but these two problems are closely intertwined. And it turns out that at first a person is not hired because he is still young, and after many years - because he is no longer young.

At the same time, such a bias (which towards older candidates, which towards young ones) harms not only job seekers, but also companies in general. According to research, a business is more sustainable if the team is diverse in gender, age and nationality. This principle applies to a number of large companies, such as Google.

2. Older people are denied the right to be attractive

By default, only a young and slender body is considered beautiful and sexy. In most clothing catalogs, you will find young, fit models whose looks are of generally accepted standards. For those who do not fit into these standards, it is very difficult to choose clothes.

Elderly people rarely walk on the catwalk or appear in advertisements for clothing and cosmetics. They don't look at us from billboards and glossy magazines.

They seem to be excluded from the world of fashion, from the circle of beautiful and sexy, making it clear that all this is only for young people, and they have already lived their way.

The elderly are denied the right to an intimate life. For example, 50-year-old Maria Morais from Portugal in 1995, through the fault of doctors, was deprived of the opportunity to have sex and then sued them. However, the court tried to deny the woman compensation, because at her age, sex is no longer so important. Maria still received the money, but the case shows well the attitude towards the elderly.

The dating app Tinder went even further and offered a more expensive subscription for those over 30. It seems like, sorry, you are not the first freshness, if you please pay more than the rest.

The situation is gradually changing: photographers are talking about stylish elderly people, whole models are opening up. Scientific papers are also written about sex at an older age. 80-year-old Yoko Ono is photographed for the Pirelli calendar in short shorts and stockings. Brands strive to show that natural aging can be aesthetic. For example, in the Dove ad, one of the heroines does not want to dye her gray hair, because it is already beautiful.

But this all applies to a greater extent to Western countries. In Russia, older people are represented in the media and advertising in a one-sided way - in stereotypical grandparents, who are only interested in household chores and caring for loved ones.

3. People of the age do not want to be examined and treated

Doctors are not as attentive to older people as they are to younger patients. Many complaints are attributed to age and simply shrug their shoulders: what you wanted, old age. As a result, the quality of life suffers and the risk of not diagnosing in time a serious illness that could be detected at an early stage increases.

Olga Tkacheva, the chief freelance geriatrician of the Ministry of Health, told Rosbalt about several such cases from her practice. For example, about how an elderly man complained of back pain, but he was not even sent for an X-ray - they just prescribed anti-inflammatory ointments. And three months later, it turned out that a person had lung cancer with metastases.

Adolescents can also face similar problems: their ailments are often associated with adolescence and are not always ready to deal with them in detail.

4. The elderly are not treated well

As a result of industrialization, people gradually moved from the patriarchal, multi-generational model of the family to the nuclear one. It is composed of parents and (possibly) children, but excludes grandparents and all other relatives. This has its advantages: young people are often calmer and more comfortable living separately. But there is also a significant disadvantage: older people have found themselves cut off from the rest of society and do not yet understand what to do about it.

The world is crowding out those who have already turned 50. According to the WHO, 60% of older people face discrimination and disrespect in society. Every sixth person over 60 years of age in 2018 at least once was subjected to abuse at home.

But even if nothing like this happens in the family, an elderly relative can be treated formally and a little condescendingly. Older people are generally considered old-fashioned, boring, lonely, and weak. They are denied the right to self-expression and adventurism.

A pensioner who wants to get a second higher education, make himself a red mohawk or start a career in IT runs the risk of being faced with ridicule and misunderstanding: where are you, it would be better to think about your soul and babysit your grandchildren.

The Internet and social networks were supposed to bring everyone closer and narrow the gap between people of different ages. But sometimes there is a feeling that it is only expanding: the elderly are less confident in using technology, do not keep up with the current agenda, sometimes behave inappropriately (they use memes and slang incorrectly, do not understand jokes), are grouped in separate communities or even on separate platforms. And often they don't even know what instant messengers and social networks are.

In all this, of course, not only stereotypes or cruelty are involved, but also a banal conflict of generations. 60-year-olds teach young people how to live, proving their infantilism and irresponsibility, and young people snarl, using the phrase "Ok, boomer" that has become a meme. Moreover, this is done not only on the Internet, but also, for example, in the New Zealand parliament.

Both sides can be understood, but this confrontation still does not lead to anything good. Studies show that older people who have a negative view of aging live 7.5 years less than those who have a positive view.

What can we do about it

According to WHO forecasts, due to the increase in life expectancy, the number of people over 60 years old by 2030 will grow to 1.4 billion people and will make up one sixth of the world's population. Many of these people could work, pay taxes, and be active consumers of goods and services. But instead, they will be forced to retire, knock around without a normal job and remain in social isolation. Therefore, it is important both for the economy and for society as a whole that the elderly are included in active life.

Many countries are taking steps in this direction. For example, the United States was one of the first to abolish forced retirement, and for discrimination against employees by age, American employers are punished with fines and sanctions. As a result, the proportion of working people over 60 has increased markedly.

In Russia, an employer has recently not had the right to simply fire a person of pre-retirement age or not take him to a position. For this, you can get a fine of up to 200,000 rubles or get into compulsory work for up to 360 hours. In addition, the gender and age of the desired candidate cannot be indicated in vacancies.

In Moscow for active citizens there is a program "", which allows you to go to courses for free, go in for sports, and join clubs of interest. Some brands make public service announcements that urge you to be more tolerant of older people, not to avoid communicating with them. Here, for example, is the Tele2 video, which shows how important it is to teach your grandparents to use the Internet.

Alas, the bans can still be bypassed, and the program, which works only in the capital, does not solve the problem globally. However, each of us can contribute if we start with ourselves. Will not roll her eyes or laugh when a teenager talks about her feelings. Will hire a candidate over 50 years old and, if necessary, help him adapt to a young team. Will teach grandmother to pay bills through the application. In the end, he will just show a little more patience with an elderly person who delays the queue or does not understand something the first time.